OVERVIEW

The course introduces the core concepts of legal ethics and forensic deontology, analyzing professional conduct before and during trials (law of lawyering). Students will learn to qualify virtuous conducts in the exercise of legal representation, while censuring the abuse of procedural tools. Special focus is dedicated to the impact of algorithmic systems on the defense function and the proper use of Artificial Intelligence under the EU Regulation.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course contributes to the achievement of the educational objectives of the Degree Program by offering the theoretical and practical tools to analyze the implementation of best practices in technical defense within disputes, understood as a fundamental pillar for a critical and non-neutral vision of procedural law.

The educational path enables students to adopt – drawing upon the dogmatic tradition of the subject and the teaching of Vittorio Denti – the perspective of the defense function as an essential reference criterion to evaluate the proper functioning of judicial practice.

To this end, the teaching aims to foster the ability to discern the constituent requirements of qualified legal representation and a proper defense in court. A reciprocal objective is the development of a strong critical aptitude aimed at identifying and censuring procedural phenomena and conducts that are inconsistent with this deontological and ethical-legal parameter.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• Qualify the duties of probity, dignity, decorum, and independence of the legal profession, identifying the typical cases of disciplinary misconduct provided for by the current Forensic Deontology Code.
• Contextualize the regulatory and ethical limits imposed by the European Artificial Intelligence Regulation (AI Act) on the use of algorithmic systems within the administration of justice, based on the official EU sources analyzed during lectures.

Applying knowledge and understanding

• Resolve practical matters concerning the professional liability of the defense counsel, subsuming concrete procedural conducts under the relevant deontological provisions, through the analysis of the case law of the National Bar Council (Consiglio Nazionale Forense).
• Assess the lawfulness of employing predictive and generative AI systems in legal research and drafting procedural documents, applying the compliance and risk management parameters established by European Union legislation.

Making judgements

• Distinguish between the legitimate exercise of the right to defense and procedural strategy, and conducts aimed at the abuse of process or the violation of the duties of loyalty and fairness, motivating judgements according to the dogmatic principles of the law of lawyering.

Communication skills

• Argue the resolution of a forensic ethical-professional conflict, demonstrating during the examination the mastery of specialist lexicon and dogmatic terminology proper to forensic deontology and the professional legal order.

Learning skills

• Update independently their skills regarding the legal profession framework and deontological liability, integrating the rapid technological evolutions of digital justice by consulting the repertories and institutional databases of the legal profession.

PREREQUISITES

For a productive understanding of the topics covered, it is recommended to attend the course after having passed the Civil Procedural Law (Module I) exam.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of 36 hours of lecture-based teaching delivered through interactive methods, aimed at stimulating debate and discussion in the classroom starting from the analysis of practical cases. During the lectures, the drafting of written texts (papers) focused on the resolution of ethical conflicts and forensic deontology issues is assigned; these written papers will be taken into account for the final grade of the exam.

Students with valid certifications for Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), disabilities or other educational needs and having complied with Unige procedures (described here) who need compensatory measures to prepare the exams or during the exams are invited to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on any teaching methods that, in accordance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning styles. For requesting Unige services for students with disabilities and other information, please visit unige.it. For further information, please visit unige.it and contact the Department's disability liaison officer (isa.fanlo@unige.it).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course addresses the centrality of the defense function and the legal profession within the civil justice system, examining its perception within the social context. The ethical-professional implications of the conduct of legal representation are thoroughly investigated within the framework of the trilateral relationships with clients, fellow professionals, and the judiciary. In this perspective, specific attention is paid to the relationship with the judicial order, outlining the parameters for a proper use of trials and for the qualification of conducts constituting an abuse of procedural tools.

The analysis extends to the ethical-professional values assumed as requirements for the defense in court, including the standards of reliability, technical-professional competence, the duty of loyalty in professional relationships, and the duty of fairness—understood as transparency (candor)—towards the judge. Finally, deontological topics are connected with the new organizational models of the legal profession and emerging technological challenges, with specific reference to the use of Artificial Intelligence in the digitalization of justice, in research, and in the drafting of procedural documents in light of the European Union compliance framework.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Specific indications on reference bibliography will be provided by the professor at the beginning of the lectures. Dedicated teaching and case-law materials will also be made available on the course AulaWeb platform.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes will take place from 15 September 2025 to 12 December 2026

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The final exam is conducted in an oral format and usually consists of two or three open questions aimed at verifying the understanding of the general topics in the syllabus. The final evaluation, expressed out of thirty, includes differentiated pathways for attending and non-attending students, according to the following methods.

For attending students: The overall evaluation integrates the results of the final oral exam and the workshop activity carried out during classes. Specifically, the drafting and presentation of written reports (papers) on practical ethical-deontological cases contribute to the determination of the final grade up to a maximum of 10 points (grade from 0 to 10), while the final oral interview accounts for the remaining part of the score (grade from 0 to 20).

For non-attending students: The exam is conducted entirely in an oral format covering the whole study program. The interview will verify both theoretical knowledge of the subject and the subsumptive and critical capacity on clinical-legal cases equivalent to those dealt with in class, contributing to the allocation of the entire score (grade from 0 to 30).

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The final oral interview allows to assess the knowledge and understanding of the dogmatic principles of forensic deontology, as well as the capacity to contextualize the limits imposed by the AI Act on the administration of justice. Through the formulation of open questions and the discussion of practical cases, reasoning skills, autonomy of judgement in distinguishing legitimate defense strategies from the abuse of process, and mastery of the technical-specialist lexicon of the discipline are evaluated.

For attending students, the drafting of the written text (paper) allows to assess the analytical skills in resolving real ethical conflicts and the accuracy in evaluating professional case law, rewarding synthesis and argumentative logic.

Students having a valid certification of disability or Specific Learning Disorders (DSA) and having complied with Unige procedures (described here) may request the use of compensatory measures during the exams (e.g. additional time and/or concept maps). In any case, for further information, please contact the Department’s disability liaison: Isa.Fanlo@unige.it

FURTHER INFORMATION

For any further information or clarification not included in this teaching schedule, please contact the professor directly.